Looking around the secret chamber, aside from the faint light leaking in from the ceiling, nothing else could be found. Finally, Evan Yang shifted his gaze to the Blood-Stone Coffin, watching as he approached step by step, blood staining the coffin from some unknown source.
"There's so much dust here, but only this coffin is so active." Evan Yang muttered as he walked up for a closer look.
Besides that, Evan noticed some subtle details. Using the light shining onto the top of the coffin, he saw a faint, weak ripple covering the Blood-Stone Coffin. "Is this a seal?" Evan wondered as he looked at the thin membrane over the coffin.
Having studied sealing techniques, Evan naturally wanted to open this seal using the Law-Breaker Art. But the strange blood made him hesitate for a moment. After checking the surroundings and confirming nothing was abnormal, he finally reached out his right hand.
Staring at the coffin radiating faint ripples, Evan felt extremely tense—this was his first time using the Law-Breaker Art, and in such an environment.
The ripples slowly faded away, leaving the coffin exposed before Evan with no light at all. He withdrew his hand and was about to push the lid, when a wave of bloody stench surged forth. The blood at the base of the coffin erupted, boiling up like a volcanic explosion.
Evan quickly retreated, then saw the coffin lid fly up, slam into the ceiling, and finally crash down not far in front of him, leaving the lidless Blood-Stone Coffin rocking there.
"Could it be a monster?" Evan warned himself, keeping one hand ready to reseal the coffin at any moment.
Step by step, though only seven steps away, Evan took his time until he stopped about half a meter from the coffin. Seeing that the coffin was only half a man's height, he discovered a fist-sized pearl inside, emitting white light. The coffin was filled with blood, the stark contrast of white and red striking his eyes.
At this moment, the white pearl’s glow was even stronger due to the broken seal, fiercely contending with the strange blood inside. Whenever the glowing pearl tried to fly out, it was smothered by the blood-red liquid.
This sight startled Evan, who had no idea what was going on—he stared intently at the white glowing pearl.
Just as Evan was concentrating, a weak, elderly voice suddenly sounded: "Save me!"
"Who?" Evan, already on edge, was startled back to reality by the sudden voice. He looked around, thinking someone had entered.
"It's me, I'm inside this pearl." The white glowing pearl, still resisting the crimson blood, called out to Evan.
"You? You can talk?" Evan was stunned, staring at the white pearl. The sudden turn left him at a loss, and just as the pearl was about to be overwhelmed by the blood, Jade Rabbit jumped out and cried, "Big Brother, hurry and save him!"
"You know him?" Evan asked in surprise, seeing Jade Rabbit so anxious.
"I'll explain in a moment," Jade Rabbit said urgently, nearly frantic.
Seeing Jade Rabbit like this, Evan immediately joined the white pearl’s struggle, helping it resist the blood.
With Evan’s powerful intervention, the blood instantly shrank back, and the pearl shone even brighter. At last, it shot out of the coffin and landed at Evan’s feet, exhausted. The blood, seemingly bound to the coffin, eventually grew still.
"Whew, what kind of coffin is this..." After witnessing the scene just now, Evan could only comment on the strange blood coffin.
Jade Rabbit, who had been hiding in Evan Yang’s bag, was no longer bothered by the bloody smell. She jumped down and lay on the pearl, muttering something to it.
Evan could only stand there and watch, ready in case the blood coffin suddenly changed.
After a while, the pearl seemed to recover some spiritual strength and floated up before Evan, respectfully saying, "Thank you."
"You are...?" This was Evan's first time seeing a talking pearl, and he stared at it curiously.
"I am Old Clam. My true body was destroyed by someone hundreds of years ago, so I had to entrust my soul to this natal essence pearl. Even then, I couldn’t escape my fate and was sealed here." The big pearl said sadly.
"So you're a pearl?" Evan muttered, unable to believe it after hearing the explanation. His curiosity piqued, he asked, "Who sealed you?"
"A human powerhouse. He wanted to refine me into a blood bead. If you hadn’t shown up, in a few more years I would’ve lost myself to the Blood-Demon Water’s corrosion." Old Clam said gratefully.
"How strong was that person?" Evan figured from the strange blood coffin that the person behind it couldn’t be ordinary.
Sure enough, Old Clam said something that stunned Evan: "I heard he was the Top Expert of the Eastern Continent a few hundred years ago. He killed many powerful sea beasts in the Southern Sea’s Strange Reefs, and I wasn’t spared either."
"Top Expert?" Evan exclaimed.
"Yes. Back then, the Southern Sea’s Strange Reefs were so chaotic that sea beasts didn’t dare come out. After I was captured, I don’t know what happened next." Old Clam said, a bit sadly.
"That guy’s a real monster." Evan finally commented.
"Let me leave this place." Old Clam suddenly said.
"Big Brother, take him with you! He’ll be helpful to you," Jade Rabbit suddenly said to Evan. Even though Evan didn’t know what use Old Clam’s pearl could have, the fact it could talk would already amaze any cultivator.
In the end, at Old Clam and Jade Rabbit’s request, Evan took this strange pearl with him, learning its name was Old Clam. The name surprised him for quite a while before he finally left the odd blood coffin.
"Old Clam, I can’t just carry you like this forever." Evan said, holding the heavily injured Old Clam.
"Don’t worry, watch this." Old Clam said, then began shrinking in front of Evan until he was only thumb-sized. Proudly floating before Evan, he said, "You can keep me on your chest."
"On my chest? What’s the benefit? You won’t fall off, right?" Evan asked, surprised.
Old Clam began explaining his abilities like a commentator. Evan was dumbfounded when he learned that this tiny pearl could hide his true cultivation, simulate a false realm, and change his aura.
When Evan heard that this tiny pearl could prevent others from seeing through his cultivation, even simulate cultivation and alter his aura, he was stunned.
Old Clam said proudly, “Heh, otherwise that guy wouldn’t have forced me to submit.”
"Why didn’t you follow him, but chose to follow me?" Evan asked, curious why Old Clam, after being sealed for centuries, would attach himself to someone he just met.
Old Clam replied sadly, “It’s because that guy wiped out my whole clan. In the end, I was left all alone. I thought I’d just let myself be demonized, but you ended up saving me.”
"Your whole clan?" Evan was amazed at the idea of a clan with so many strange pearls.
"You’re overthinking it. I’m the only one in my clan with this ability—the others don’t have it. That’s why that guy targeted me, even killed many before finally capturing me and destroying my body, leaving only my soul in this pearl." Old Clam explained, seeing through Evan’s thoughts.
"That person really was cruel." Evan cursed the heartless villain.
"Exactly. That’s why Jade Rabbit wanted me to follow you—she said you could help me restore my true body one day." Old Clam looked at Evan with hope.
"Me?" Evan didn’t know what Jade Rabbit and Old Clam had discussed, and when Old Clam brought it up, Evan pointed at himself in confusion.
"Yes, Jade Rabbit said you have great potential. In just a few years, you’re almost at the Core-Formation Realm. In another hundred years, you could help me restore my true body." Old Clam not only thanked Evan for saving him, but also admired Evan’s talent.
After hearing Old Clam, Evan realized he’d found a treasure. With this pearl, he could hide his cultivation. The thought made him feel delighted—it was worth coming here after all.
Old Clam didn’t know what Evan was thinking. He attached himself to Evan’s chest, miraculously embedding into Evan’s top-grade spirit armor, and said, “Just let me know when you need me. Otherwise, I’ll rest quietly on your treasure.”
"Alright, take care and rest." Evan said.
Things quieted down again. Evan climbed out of the cave, and to avoid drawing attention, he blocked the entrance.
Looking at the loose concrete, Evan silently prayed that the so-called Top Expert of the Eastern Continent wouldn’t discover he’d taken the treasure. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stand a chance against such a powerhouse.
Before leaving, Evan glanced at the tiny pearl on his chest, smiled in satisfaction, and set off to search for rare treasures elsewhere. Over the next few days, he encountered many scattered cultivators, some brazenly tried to extort him, demanding he hand over any valuables found on the outskirts of the Death Crystal Field.
As you might expect, after saying that, those people never got another chance to speak. By the tenth day, Evan sensed his cultivation had changed.
"Am I about to form a core?" Evan felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
To find a quiet place to check his condition, Evan searched for most of the day and finally found a spot near the Death Crystal Field. He wanted to keep other cultivators away and avoid attracting attention with any big fluctuations.
This time, Evan had Old Clam conceal his aura, so even if cultivators passed nearby, they wouldn’t know someone was cultivating there.
This ability made Evan look at Old Clam in a whole new light. After praising him, Evan began to meditate and check his own cultivation.
Because Evan had repeatedly consumed and replenished spiritual energy, his muscles and bones were greatly strengthened. His blood remained as red as before, sometimes tinged with pale green, which suppressed the boiling caused by cultivation.
Aside from that, the three leaves inside him were unchanged.
"Why did my whole body turn green last time?" Evan wondered about the sudden surge of strength that vanished after a few days. He checked the three leaves, but, disappointed, exited his inner body and began cultivating.
After reaching the peak Foundation-Building stage, the next step is the Core-Formation Realm. Once you reach Core-Formation, you can use many divine abilities, like sound transmission and flight. That’s why it’s the realm most cultivators dream of—only then can you truly soar through the skies and be distinguished from ordinary people.